Saving Seafood

Alaska Fisheries Science Center presses forward amid budget strains

April 22, 2025 — At a time when science-based decision-making is more critical than ever for the future of Alaska’s fisheries, researchers at NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) are navigating severe staffing shortages and budget uncertainties heading into 2025.

Despite the setbacks, the Center is doubling down on its mission: delivering the data federal fisheries managers rely on to keep Alaska’s waters productive and its fisheries sustainable.

“A loss of staff and uncertainties about the budget have not changed the importance of our mission,” said Bob Foy, science and research director for AFSC, in a virtual presentation from Juneau during ComFish Alaska, held April 16 in Kodiak, as reported by The Cordova Times.

That mission, Foy emphasized, includes supporting sustainable fisheries, conserving protected resources, and maintaining healthy marine ecosystems across Alaska’s expansive and diverse waters.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Researchers start estimating fish biomass using DNA

November 15, 2024 — Researchers looking to estimate biomass of multiple Alaska fish species say it is now possible to estimate fish biomass for more than one species at the same time using environmental DNA found in sea water.

In a report released by NOAA Fisheries on Oct. 31, Kimberly Ledger – a research biologist with the Auke Bay Laboratories of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center and lead author of the study – said researchers had learned they could accurately quantify species composition and estimate biomass for different species of cod and pollock at the same time using eDNA.

Read the full article at The Cordova Times

Bottom-trawl gear to blame for most of this year’s fishery-related killer whale deaths, NOAA says

December 5, 2023 — A federal investigation into the unusually large number of Bering Sea and Aleutian killer whales found dead this summer determined that most but not all of the deaths were killed by entanglement in fishing gear.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center on Friday released some details about the deaths in the Bering Sea and Aleutians, which had spurred sharp criticism of seafood trawling practices.

Of the nine killer whales that were found ensnared in bottom-trawling gear, six were killed by those entanglements but two others were already dead before they were netted, the investigation found. The other whale was seriously injured by the gear entanglement but escaped alive, the agency said.

In addition to the nine whales found in bottom-trawl gear, there were two other cases of dead killer whales found entangled in other types of fishing gear.

Read the full story at the Alaska Beacon

ALASKA: To encourage more young fishermen, look to farm programs as models, new study argues

August 23, 2022 — Young Alaskans seeking to break into commercial fishing face a lot of the same barriers that confront young farmers in the Lower 48 states, but they have far fewer resources to help overcome those barriers, according to newly published research.

A study by Alaska experts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration argues that the fishing industry and the communities that depend on fishing should have support similar to that offered to young farmers.

“The sheer scale, depth, and breadth of programming for beginning farmers makes the comparison to new fisheries entrant programs stark. Yet the lack of a new generation of fishermen poses similar risks to national food security and should be treated with similar urgency,” said the study, published in the Journal of Rural Studies.

The aging of Alaska’s commercial fishing workforce has been a concern for several years. The phenomenon is widespread enough that there is a catchphrase for it: the “graying of the fleet.”

Other coastal states also have problems with an aging fisheries workforce, but the issue is accentuated in Alaska because of the importance of the size and importance of the industry here, said Marysia Szymkowiak of NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center, one of the two authors.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

Surface Trawl Survey Reveals Shifting Fish Populations

November 23, 2021 — Researchers are predicting low fish runs in the Norton Sound and Northern Bering Sea region again next year, according to research biologist Jim Murphy.

Murphy, who works with the Salmon Ocean Ecology and Bycatch Analysis Group at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Juneau, presented the findings of the recent 2021 surface trawl survey during a Strait Science event. The survey, which tracks marine life across the surface and midlevel of the northern Bering Strait, was conducted in September this year. Researchers studied salmon, seabirds, shrimp, zooplankton and several other marine species.

The surface trawl survey has been conducted every year for almost two decades, and Murphy says when the survey is conducted is crucial. “The timing of the survey was established at the beginning to match the timing of marine entry and dispersal of juvenile salmon from estuarine habitats, and we’ve attempted to keep the timing of the survey as consistent as possible.”

Though the primary purpose of the surface trawl is to track pelagic fish, or species found in the middle and upper water columns, and invertebrate populations, researchers also collect zooplankton and sediments, as well as bottom-dwelling fish, crab and invertebrates.

Read the full story at Seafood News

What Fish Fat Can Tell About the Value of Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Habitat

September 22, 2021 — Rockfish have an affinity for structure, whether it is created by rocks, corals, or sponges. But do deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems offer benefits beyond structure? Are fish in these habitats more productive?

A new NOAA Fisheries study is the first to look at the relationship between fish condition and reproductive success in a variety of habitats, focusing on deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems. As part of the study, scientists are developing methods to accurately assess rockfish condition by measuring fat content. For rockfish in Alaska, fat means healthy.

The study looked at the most commercially important rockfish in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands: northern rockfish and Pacific ocean perch. Samples are being collected during 2021–2022 Alaska Fisheries Science Center bottom trawl surveys.

The research addresses a priority of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council: understanding the importance of deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems to commercially valuable fish.

“Developing a feasible method to accurately measure fish condition across  Alaska waters during annual surveys will provide a wealth of data to help us understand how habitat influences fish productivity. That knowledge will also help us track how climate change is affecting the ecosystem,” said study leader Christina Conrath, NOAA Fisheries biologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

The new project is part of NOAA’s Alaska Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Initiative, which is supported by the Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program. The initiative was established to provide the scientific data needed to inform management and protection of deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems in Alaska. Discoveries made previously and under this initiative have greatly advanced our knowledge of corals and sponges and their role in Alaska marine ecosystems.

Rockfish in Alaska waters are frequently found in coral and sponge habitat. Previous Alaska Fisheries Science Center research found that rockfish densities were highest in structurally complex habitat. But that research showed no evidence that structure created by corals and sponges was more important than that formed by rocks.

“We know that rockfish get value from structure. But we don’t really have evidence yet that coral and sponge habitat offers benefits beyond structure,” Conrath said. “We’re exploring that.”

Read the full story from NOAA

 

Multi-Year Effort to Observe Seafloor Habitats and Learn More about Deep-sea Corals and Sponges in Alaska

August 10, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

To learn more about deep-sea communities in the sub-Arctic waters of Alaska, NOAA Fisheries is implementing a four-year science initiative. Research teams will collect new information that will contribute to the management and protection of deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems throughout Alaska.

Corals and sponges are found throughout Alaska’s rich marine waters—the Aleutian Islands have some of the densest and most diverse coral and sponge communities in the world. However, their full geographic extent is still unknown.

This is due in part to the vastness of Alaska’s exclusive economic zone. These offshore waters encompass an area greater than the combined EEZ of all the other U.S. continental states. As a result, approximately 72 percent of Alaska’s waters have yet to be thoroughly mapped with sonar.

“It’s really important that we conduct this research now. So much of the sub-Arctic and Arctic is changing due to climate change and we know so little about these seafloor communities and valuable fish and crab habitats,” said Jerry Hoff, the lead scientist for this effort, who is based at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

Read the full release here

NOAA’s first tribal research coordinator aims to build partnerships with Alaska’s Indigenous communities

July 27, 2021 — For the first time, the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a tribal research coordinator.

Mabel Baldwin-Schaeffer was born and raised in Kiana, a small Iñupiaq village on the Kobuk River in Northwest Alaska. She said she’ll bring that perspective with her as the first tribal coordinator for the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s communications program.

“Near and dear to my heart has always been to improve local participation and to engage rural communities and research development,” she said. “I am most excited to work with elders and local people in the community.”

NOAA is a key federal leader of environmental research. Those involved say the new position is a step toward better representation for Alaska’s Indigenous communities.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

Low-Fat Diet Possible Culprit in Poor Survival of Young Pollock Born 2013

July 21, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In summer 2013,  the number of juvenile Alaska pollock in the Gulf of Alaska was the largest on record by far. A year later, those fish were mostly gone.

A new NOAA Fisheries study explores what happened to the pollock born in 2013,  focusing on the interaction between juvenile fish and their prey. Results suggest that a diet high in low-fat food may have kept fish from gaining the weight they needed to survive over winter.

“Our results point to poor diet as a contributing factor,” said NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center biologist Jesse Lamb, who led the study with colleague David Kimmel. “But there is probably not just one answer. Cannibalism and wind-driven transport to inferior habitat likely also played a role. With that combination, the 2013 year class had the deck stacked against them.”

Read the full release here

Fish Out of Water: How Capture Affects Sablefish Health, Reflexes, and Survival

July 13, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Sablefish is a high-quality, deepwater fish that supports a valuable Alaska fishery. The fishery has seen dramatic changes in recent years. The highest abundance of young  sablefish in decades arrived with warming temperatures. At the same time, a rapidly-growing pot fishery has emerged alongside traditional hook-and-line fishing in the Gulf of Alaska. A new study shows that, with careful handling, they are able to withstand the stresses of capture on hook-and-line gear—but their.reflexes could be impaired.

In the directed sablefish fishery, commercial fishermen must retain all sablefish (regardless of size) until individual fishing quotas are filled. Then, all remaining catch is returned to sea. To accurately assess the fish stocks to set sustainable catch limits, managers need to estimate how many of the fish caught and released will survive.

A new collaborative study provides information essential for sustainable management of  the sablefish fishery as it evolves and adapts to changing conditions. NOAA Fisheries  Alaska Fisheries Science Center scientists teamed up with a veterinary professor at Oregon State University. They looked at how the stress of capture and time out of water affects the health and reflexes of sablefish, and whether that contributes to delayed mortality. Their findings provide a better understanding of mortality after release from pot fishing. They provide information essential for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to evaluate the implications of proposed “careful release” of small sablefish before fishing quotas are filled.

Read the full release here